Shuri-Ryu

[Noah_Legel]

Believe Mr. George Sheridan runs that school. He is a 7th degree blackbelt, last I knew, and I believe he is also a County Sheriff. I know that Mr. Walker knows him, and I recall hearing stories about Mr. Sheridan, but I can't recall what they were. I will be practicing Judo with Mr. Walker tonight, so I will try to remember to ask him what he knows about Mr. Sheridan for you.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

Believe Mr. George Sheridan runs that school. He is a 7th degree blackbelt, last I knew, and I believe he is also a County Sheriff. I know that Mr. Walker knows him, and I recall hearing stories about Mr. Sheridan, but I can't recall what they were. I will be practicing Judo with Mr. Walker tonight, so I will try to remember to ask him what he knows about Mr. Sheridan for you.

I have heard the name but really don't know more than that. Sorry!!

 

[Grenadier]

Believe Mr. George Sheridan runs that school. He is a 7th degree blackbelt, last I knew, and I believe he is also a County Sheriff. I know that Mr. Walker knows him, and I recall hearing stories about Mr. Sheridan, but I can't recall what they were. I will be practicing Judo with Mr. Walker tonight, so I will try to remember to ask him what he knows about Mr. Sheridan for you.

Yup. You pretty much described Sheridan Sensei. He's one of the chief instructors of the Shuri Ryu system under the Bowles faction, and a darn good teacher.

He's hard nosed, indeed, but you'll learn a lot from him. He has a pretty good working knowledge of Kobudo as well.

 

[Noah_Legel]

Mr. Walker has informed me that Mr. Sheridan is, indeed, a bit of a hard-nose, as Grenadier said, but his technique is good and you will most certainly learn a great deal from him.

 

[BrianF]

NAR, Brandon, Grenadier:

Thank you for your replies. The instructor is Mr. Sheridan and I have observed his classes a couple of times. I also know him outside the dojo. He is well respected as a LEO and as a person.

My questions were about the school/style and those have been answered. I hope that work and family commitments will allow me to begin training with him.

Thanks again.


Brian F

 

[shaolin_al]

The school i'm looking at is of the Robert Trias system. The instructor is a woman who learned from him, but she has been training and/or teaching shuri-ryu for over 25 years.

 

[Noah_Legel]

Well Brian, I am glad that you had your questions answered, and I sincerely hope that life allows you to bring Shuri-Ryu into it. It is definitely going to give you a workout, mentally and physically, and I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I do. If you get into it and ever find yourself one state over and you end up in Central Illinois, send me a message or look up our dojo and we'd be glad to have you in to work out with us.

~Noah

 

[Grenadier]

Shaolin_al,

You're in a great location for Shuri Ryu training. Arizona is chock full o' senior Shuri Ryu sensei, and Hanshi Trias-Kelley is in your area, too.

Anyways, I hope to see y'all over at Hanshi Abele's International Martial Arts Symposium in South Carolina this October.

 

[twendkata71]

Hope to see you at the international symposium as well. Mr. Able has a lot of great talented masters there every year.

 

[Shuri Ryu Sonny]

The school i'm looking at is of the Robert Trias system. The instructor is a woman who learned from him, but she has been training and/or teaching shuri-ryu for over 25 years.

I've been training at the Double Dragon for about five years now, where; Renshi Fran is the chief instructor, a sixth degree black belt in Shuri-ryu, under Osensei Dr. Roberta Trias-Kelley, 10th Degree black belt. Other instructors are her son Kosensei Billy,and Kosensei "Samurai" John Nelson, Jr both third degree black belts.

I do feel that the Roberta Trias Kelly Faction stayed more traditional where as the John Pachivas faction, where I believe that John Sharkey follows has kinda I don't know if "killed" the tradition is the correct word, but they do seem to pratice a more "flashy" style then what we consider traditinal.

 

[dancingalone]

Yeah, but what does 'traditional' mean in this case? I had understood shuri-ryu had a lot of Mr. Trias' own creations within it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but shuri-ryu is not an art that is centuries old after all.

Good luck with your training!

 

[kohelet]

very interesting opinions of Shuri-Ryu. I have trained this style since 1986 and currently hold 4th dan under Lorraine Lewis who currently holds 9th dan under Dr. Trias-Kelly. Yes it is a creation of Robert Trias. Yes it does have a basis in the karate of Okinawa. If i remember correctly Trias got the name for his new style from Konishi. No it is not Shuri-te! reguardless of what some might tell you. We do however use some technique that are no longer taught in most Okinawan karate such as the older form of the punching hand keeping the fore finger straight rather than curled and keeping the elbow down rather than to the side and bent as in most modern karate. That being said, Shuri-Ryu is an uniquely American creation. I personally think that you would do well to try a few classes at the dojo you have found and see how you personally feel about it. The good thing about having many styles to choose from is that there is bound to be one that fits everyone's needs. Shuri-Ryu does have a couple of factions as far as its current organization and leadership but the basics are the same where ever you go. Sensei Lewis teaches a veriation that is quite different than both the ISA group and that taught by Dr. Trias-Kelly. She has trained with many different instructors since she began in 1965 and has seen many developments over that time. In my humble opinion it is a great system and has developed a wonderful group of excelant karate ka. As for Trias himself, his liniage will be a subject of debate for ages to come but his accomplishments are beyond question. He has done more for the early development of karate in America than any other of his time. As was said in earlier posts, during his time anyone who was anyone in karate was in some way associated with him and his USKA. It is one of the several styles created or influenced by Trias and has withstood the test of time. Trias may not have specifically detailed where he obtained his karate knowledge but I assure you his knowledge was authentic and based both in the karate of Okinawa and some form of Chinese martial arts, though I personally doubt it was Hsing-Yi specifically. It is however rooted in the internal arts because Sensei Lewis is a stickler for not being what she calls jokingly Um Gawa! meaning hard and muscular. Trias Karate is to be soft and internal using leverage and proper bone alignment with softness for its effectiveness, which seems to be lacking in Japanese karate of today atleast in its early ranks.


Eric Eubanks 4th dan Shuri-Ryu, 4th dan Shorei-Ryu

 

[Grenadier]

very interesting opinions of Shuri-Ryu. I have trained this style since 1986 and currently hold 4th dan under Lorraine Lewis who currently holds 9th dan under Dr. Trias-Kelly.

Well met! After I left South Carolina (under Ridgely Abele), I trained with the Trias-Kelly faction for two years, under Renshi Fran Babbino, who is also one of O-Sensei's students (6th dan).

Even though I'm quite happy at my current dojo, training in Japanese Karate, there are times that I look back at the Shuri Ryu training, and really miss it. Hopefully, I can brush up a bit when I go to this year's symposium in a few weeks.

being said, Shuri-Ryu is an uniquely American creation.

Indeed. There was a pretty good discussion on the Yahoo group, regarding this matter. In the end, it's an American creation, with an Okinawan flavor.

Regardless of the origin, though, it's a solid system, and O-Sensei Trias (Robert) left behind quite a legacy. All of the chief instructors of the Shuri Ryu system from the two major factions are top notch instructors, and I've enjoyed training under both factions as well.

 

[miguksaram]

Yes, I know which kata you have. I know several of Mr. John Sharkey's students and have known them for several years. I am not attacking your style of choice, I am merely making an observation. I have been training long enough in Okinawan Karate and the martial arts to be able to evaluate a kata. When I see a kata with stances and techniques used in a manor that is set towards gaining a higher score, it is what I am saying when a kata is geared towards competition.

Sorry to raise a dead thread...but I am slow at work today. Anyway, I am one of Sharkey's black belts and we do practice our stances at different levels, one being traditional and the other gear towards competition. Those who have been in the sport karate circuit knows that it is more about performance than it is about pure tradition.

BTW Infidel...what is your name?

 

[miguksaram]

I've been training at the Double Dragon for about five years now, where; Renshi Fran is the chief instructor, a sixth degree black belt in Shuri-ryu, under Osensei Dr. Roberta Trias-Kelley, 10th Degree black belt. Other instructors are her son Kosensei Billy,and Kosensei "Samurai" John Nelson, Jr both third degree black belts.

I do feel that the Roberta Trias Kelly Faction stayed more traditional where as the John Pachivas faction, where I believe that John Sharkey follows has kinda I don't know if "killed" the tradition is the correct word, but they do seem to pratice a more "flashy" style then what we consider traditinal.

Our lineage is not under Pachivas. We are under the Koppel tree..Trias->Koppell->Bouryley/Bridgewater->Sharkey

 

[kohelet]

I know from experience that the Koppel group have interesting variation in their kata. In some instances I like his version better than the ones used in the other groups. Too bad Koppel and Trias had a falling out of sorts. Both great karate leaders in their own right.

As for Today's Shorei/ Shorei-Goju/Shuri styles I would say that even with the minor variations between them the are all great styles to train and make some fine karate ka. This coming weekend here in Asheville NC we are having the honor of a public seminar with Terry B. Sanders, 3rd person ever promoted to black belt by Trias and current head of Shorei-Ryu, and would love to see a packed house. He is a great instructor and a wonderful personality as well. He will be teaching the kata Suparimpei as well as weapon forms and theory.

Eric Eubanks, 4th Dan Shuri-Ryu 4th Dan Shorei-Ryu